I picked up my Model S from the factory in Fremont last week. At home, I noticed certain parts of the car (most notably the panel above the front left wheel) had a rough texture, sort of a gritty sandpaper-like feel. I chalked it up to caked on dirt from the car sitting outside at the factory. I then had the car detailed and Opti-Coat applied over the past weekend. The rough areas are smoother, but still some gritty feel in some patches. Is this correctable at this point or would I need to get the Opti-Coat removed to fix things?
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Gizmotoy
Active Member
bareyb
Active Member
Sounds like dust nibs in the paint. Normally Detailers correct those kind of paint defects before they apply Opticoat although if they are indeed dust nibs then I'd think Tesla would take care of it on a brand new car. I believe the fix involves some Wet Sanding so someone who knows what they are doing is very important.
JPP
Active Member
...oops, maybe your detailer was a bit less than detailed. Should have picked it up and discussed it with you during prep and before OptiCoat.
islandbayy
Active Member
Contaminants in the paint. Could have been over spray or some other chemical in the air, industrial fallout (particles that are in the air that come from manufacturing), could even have been a bad batch of paint/clear. I know I was not the happiest with the paint job on mine. Correction, paint JOB was fine, the paint and clear leave much MUCH to be desired. The clear coat was VERY thin, to the point, I can barely buff out minor scratches.
Claying was the proper course of action to correct rough paint, however, it appears it might have either been too bad/contaminated, or the detailed did not do a proper job. Either way, if it was that bad, it should have went back to Tesla before opticoating. Now that it's opticoated, your for the most part, stuck with it.
Claying was the proper course of action to correct rough paint, however, it appears it might have either been too bad/contaminated, or the detailed did not do a proper job. Either way, if it was that bad, it should have went back to Tesla before opticoating. Now that it's opticoated, your for the most part, stuck with it.
kevincwelch
Active Member
islandbayy is right. This is likely an original paint defect for your car.
Claying would be considered routine before correcting the paint, but if there is any below surface contamination of the paint, claying won't do much. Also, since Tesla paint is crazy thin, there's little room to actually correct paint. So, there may have been some concern about being aggressive in that area and a hope that putting opticoat on there would mask the defect.
I will say that you can remove opticoat, but you have to use abrasives to remove it. Basically you start with the least aggressive polish and move to something more aggressive. This probably isn't for the weekend warrior since aggressive compounding can actually burn through the opticoat and then the clearcoat. Nothing will make your heart sink like seeing paint transfer on to your polishing pad when you think you're at a safe level.
If it isn't bothersome and no one notices, leave it alone. If it's really bad, have it polished (or wet sanded if needed). Understand that ultimately if it is leveled you may need it repainted.
Claying would be considered routine before correcting the paint, but if there is any below surface contamination of the paint, claying won't do much. Also, since Tesla paint is crazy thin, there's little room to actually correct paint. So, there may have been some concern about being aggressive in that area and a hope that putting opticoat on there would mask the defect.
I will say that you can remove opticoat, but you have to use abrasives to remove it. Basically you start with the least aggressive polish and move to something more aggressive. This probably isn't for the weekend warrior since aggressive compounding can actually burn through the opticoat and then the clearcoat. Nothing will make your heart sink like seeing paint transfer on to your polishing pad when you think you're at a safe level.
If it isn't bothersome and no one notices, leave it alone. If it's really bad, have it polished (or wet sanded if needed). Understand that ultimately if it is leveled you may need it repainted.
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